ACEN Accreditation Manual – Policy 9

ACCREDITATION MANUAL  •  SECTION I GENERAL INFORMATION  •  SECTION II POLICIES  •  SECTION III STANDARDS AND CRITERIA  •  GLOSSARY

ACEN Accreditation Manual – Section II Policies

POLICY #9
Disclosure of Information About an Accredited Program

When a governing organization and/or nursing education unit makes a disclosure regarding the ACEN accreditation status of a nursing program, it must (1) accurately cite each program (e.g., clinical doctorate, DNP specialist certificate, master’s, post-master’s certificate, baccalaureate, associate, diploma, and/or practical) and (2) accurately identify each nursing program’s accreditation status with ACEN.

The governing organization/nursing program must disclose the following information as a single disclosure to all current and prospective students within seven business days of receipt of the decision letter from the ACEN:

  1. The name, address, telephone number, and web address of the ACEN
  2. Per U.S. Department of Education regulation, the most recent Board of Commissioners accreditation decision, which will be one of the following:
    1. Initial Accreditation
    2. Continuing Accreditation
    3. Continuing Accreditation with Conditions
    4. Continuing Accreditation with Warning
    5. Continuing Accreditation for Good Cause
    6. Denial of Continuing Accreditation
  3. If the Board of Commissioners grants a nursing program initial or continuing accreditation, the governing organization/nursing program shall not use “fully accredited” as partial accreditation is not possible. The single disclosure must be exactly as illustrated below: The [insert type of program*] nursing program at [insert name of governing organization this is in accordance with ACEN records] at the [insert name of campus that is in accordance with ACEN records, if applicable] located in [city, state that is in accordance with ACEN records] is accredited by the:
    Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
    3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
    (404) 975-5000

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the [insert type of program*] nursing program is [insert one of the following here]

  1. Initial Accreditation
  2. Continuing Accreditation
  3. Continuing Accreditation with Conditions
  4. Continuing Accreditation with Warning
  5. Continuing Accreditation for Good Cause

–View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htm

*Type of program: practical, diploma, associate, baccalaureate, master’s, master’s/post-master’s certificate, post-master’s certificate, clinical doctorate, clinical doctorate/DNP clinical doctorate specialist certificate, or DNP clinical doctorate specialist certificate.

  1. If a nursing program is denied continuing accreditation and the program appeals the Board of Commissioners’ decision, the governing organization/nursing program must disclose the following information as a single disclosure to all current and prospective students within one business day of initiating the appeal per Policy #10 Appeal Process and Submission and Review of New Financial Information Subsequent to Adverse Action.The single disclosure must be exactly as illustrated below:The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the [insert type of program*] nursing program is denial of continuing accreditation, which [insert name of governing organization] is appealing per Policy #10 Appeal Process and Submission and Review of New Financial Information Subsequent to Adverse Action. The [insert type of program*] nursing program will remain accredited with the status of [insert the accreditation status immediately prior to denial decision*] in accordance with Policy #10 pending the outcome of the appeal process. Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
    3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
    (404) 975-5000

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htm

Based on the outcome of the appeal process, the disclosure of accreditation status information must be updated within one business day of the effective date of the accreditation decision becoming final.

  1. If a nursing program is denied continuing accreditation and the program pursues  arbitration per Policy #38 Arbitration related to the Board of Commissioners’ decision, the governing organization/nursing program must disclose the following information as a single disclosure to all current and prospective students within one business day of initiating the  arbitration process.The single disclosure must be exactly as illustrated below:The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the [insert type of program*] nursing program is denial of continuing accreditation, which [insert name of governing organization] is pursuing arbitration per Policy #38 Arbitration. The [insert type of program*] nursing program will remain accredited with the status of [insert the accreditation status immediately prior to denial decision*] in accordance with Policy #10 pending the outcome of the arbitration process.Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
    3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326
    (404) 975-5000

View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program at http://www.acenursing.us/accreditedprograms/programSearch.htmBased on the outcome of the arbitration process, the disclosure of accreditation status information must be updated within one business day of the effective date of the accreditation decision becoming final.

  1. If the nursing program is denied continuing accreditation and does not appeal the Board of Commissioners decision, the governing organization/nursing program must disclose the denial to all current and prospective students within seven business days of receipt of the decision letter from the ACEN that the Board of Commissioners denied the nursing program continuing accreditation.
  1. If a nursing program voluntarily withdraws from ACEN accreditation, the disclosure of accreditation status information must be deleted within one business day of the effective date of the voluntary withdrawal.

If the governing organization and/or nursing education unit publishes incorrect or misleading information about the accreditation status of a nursing program or any action by the ACEN relative to the accreditation status of a nursing program, the governing organization and/or nursing education unit must immediately provide public correction via a news release or through other media.

If a governing organization and/or nursing education unit makes public the contents from a Site Visit Report, Follow-Up Site Visit Report, Focused Site Visit Report, Summary of Deliberations of the Evaluation Review Panel, or Board of Commissioners decision letter, it must provide full sentences and context. Characterizing, quoting, and/or providing excerpts from a Site Visit Report, Follow-Up Site Visit Report, Focused Site Visit Report, Summary of Deliberations of the Evaluation Review Panel, or Board of Commissioners decision letter must also be accompanied by a note stating that a copy of the complete document(s) can be obtained from the nursing education unit. Should the statements be misinterpreted, the program must correct this misinterpretation through a clarifying release to the same audience that received the information.

If it is determined that a governing organization and/or nursing education unit is in violation of this policy, the ACEN Chief Executive Officer will inform the governing organization and/or nursing education unit through a formal letter. If the violation is not corrected immediately, the CEO shall report the matter to the ACEN Board of Commissioners for appropriate action.

Policy #9 History
Revised November 2015
Edited July 2017
Edited March 2019
Revised July 2020
Revised November 2020
Edited September 2022

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